The shades behind their masks
Here I got the tenth chapter for you, I hope you liked how the story turned. I have no excuse for me needing longer to write the chapter this time, please don't mind.
The countdown for the final has begun, and it's time to leave Aspertia City behind. I won't be able to integrate all parts of Unova that haven't been showed in the manga so far, but I give my best to use a few more.
Please share your praise, criticism and ideas in the review section, I'd always like to know what people like and dislike about my work!
I don't own the characters, places or Pokemon itself, and I have no intentions to earn money with this story in any way!
Chapter 10: vs Jellicent – The crossroads of destiny
Whi-Two woke up to the sound of a bird patting against her window. It wasn't be long until the sun would rise. She wearily plodded out of her bed and opened it, seeing the Swanna that was supposed to pick her up. As she realized what the Pokemon's intention was, she hurriedly snapped out of her bleary state and grabbed her bag. During the events of the last evening, she totally forgot about her appointment.
But as she returned, the girl wondered how to proceed. „How are we going to do this?", she asked the flying type. Swanna symbolized her to take place on its back. „No, I can't use you like a Mode of Transport! That would remove you of your rights and dignity.", Whi-Two complained. But her Foongus walked past her and demonstrated how it's done. „What? You think it's okay, Foongy? If you say so...", she repeated unsure., and finally sat down. Without hesitation or difficulties, it lifted off.
On the way towards Driftveil City, the young Team Plasma grunt should have noticed the plain in the woods north of Floccesy Town. But she didn't.
At sunrise, Lack-Two turned up at the runway. The door to the private jet opened, and the gym leader of Mistralton City greeted the agent cheerfully. „Lack-Two, it's so good to see you. Ready to save Unova again?", she asked preoccupied.
The boy faked one of his confident smiles to hide his dejection. He hadn't slept all night once again. He wasn't able to drive his thoughts away from how close the decision between peace for his soul and another scar in his heart had been. Trying to distract himself increased the pain, thinking about what had been his mistake doubled it. However, next up was the decision between peace for Unova and more than just scars at his body.
Just as he was about to enter the plain, a well-known loud voice stopped him. „You're not leaving without me!", Hugh yelled, running out of the forest.
Lack-Two turned around and regarded him with a dark face. „You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into!", he reproached the young man.
„Oh, I know very well.", the spiky-haired boy asserted. „You're planning to stop Team Plasma, and I won't let you do that alone."
„You're not strong enough.", the detective simply detected.
Hugh shook his head. „You were right, I never had a chance against you. But I learned from all our battles! Type disadvantage won't catch me off guard this time.", he protested.
Yet still, the boy opposite to him only frowned. „Hugh, your sister's Purrloin won't be there. This isn't about your revenge, it's about saving our world from mad conquerors."
„You nailed it. It's our world! My sister will miss more than her Purrloin if we fail. I'm ready to face those who intend to harm us.", the young man retried.
Lack-Two gave up arguing. His time was too precious to waste it like this. „If you enter this plain, I can't secure your safety!", he clarified.
Hugh grinned. „That's good, because I hate being safe!", he noted. „And whatever those grunts apply against us, it can't be as bad as what Mr Cheren will do to me when he hears how horribly I failed at our plan."
The agent smiled after this joke. „Well then, welcome on board.", he sighed. Maybe after everything that happened in the last days, an escort wasn't too awful for his mood...
Whi-Two recognized the great building in the north of Driftveil City immediately. This had to be her destination, the monastery Rood and his most faithful followers used as their shelter. Her former friends would be there, waiting for her. Her Lord N would be there, waiting for her.
It was time to find out if it would play out like she always hoped it would, or if she'd have to regret all the decisions she made in the last days!
The Swanna dropped her in front of the hill and flew towards the sea. She looked around unsure. Her eyes caught glimpse of a group of tourists searching for a hotel with vacant rooms, some laborers digging dirt out of a giant whole behind a sign that read 'Clay Tunnel' and traders that shouted out advertisement in a hall without walls to sell their merchandise. None of them seemed to remark her, and she wondered why that felt so strange for her.
The girl showed no effort to hide it: She was scared! She was scared of how they would react. As she entered, a group of young grunts that surrounded Rood and a certain man concealed by them turned towards her, eyeing her suspicious.
„Who sent you?", one of the girls Whi-Two never had close contact to asked unfriendly, most likely thinking she was an outsider who came to deal with N.
But Rood gingerly thrust her aside and protected the newcomer. „Stop being thus rude, this is your former partner Whi-Two! Don't you recognize her?" The youngsters' faces lightened up. „But forgive me for having to ask: Where is your uniform?"
Whi-Two blushed and looked at the ground. „My mother got rid of it. She thinks we need to move on and that Team Plasma is history, that's why she refused to come."
The sage laid a hand on her shoulder to alleviate her disappointment. He was able to comprehend it. The girl had been supposed to convince people of the rightness of Team Plasma's ideals, and now her own mother didn't believe in it anymore. The situation was quite similar to the relationship between him and his brother. The latter used to lead Team Plasma alongside him and strove for the liberation of all unhappy Pokemon, but when the organization parted, he kept loyal to Ghetsis and was now his most blinded enforcer...
„That's very upsetting, but we have no time to mourn about it now. Could you three please search a new suit for her?", he asked the grunts in the front row. „And you others should prepare for setting off, now that we're all present."
The crowd disbanded, and the girl hoped to be finally able to talk to her Lord N again. But his sisters still entangled him in a conversation about what he'd learned on his journeys, and she respected them too much to disrupt. She turned away and tried to do what the others were doing. Maybe it just wasn't meant to be.
Skyla came out of the cockpit while her copilot controlled the plain and gave her passengers last instructions. „Okay, Lack-Two, we're going to pass the Undella Bay in two minutes. The jet can't land there anywhere, and since you refused to go down in Lentimas Town, you'll have to drop out with parachutes. We'll fetch the others and come to patronize you as soon as possible.", she explained.
„Wait, did you say parachutes?", Hugh repeated cautious.
The agent stood up and followed the pilot to the emergency exit. „Thank you, Skyla, what would we do without you? Come on, Hugh."
„Did you say parachutes?", Hugh asked once again, unable to process the idea.
Lack-Two took one and threw it over to his companion. „Just moor it to your back and jump.", he allocated. The older boy stepped towards the outlet, attached his life-saving gear, opened the door and looked down dubiously. He was just about to turn back and tell that he couldn't do it when the detective pushed him out. „That was for threatening my girl.", he established satisfied. Then, he adopted his own chute and said goodbye to the gym leader before he followed.
They opened their parachutes shortly before reaching the water surface, Hugh because he got surprised by the fall and Lack-Two because he wanted to save time. They emerged as fast as possible, yet the taller boy had to spit out a noticeable amount of water. „Was that really necessary?", he asked angry, but a blue Jellicent cropped up and deterred him from psyching out by firing Shadow Ball- attacks at them, missing just barely.
The agent took the Pokeball of his Samurott, but Hugh was faster, releasing his Vibrava. „Let me handle this.", he requested. „Vibrava, use Double Team." His Pokemon did so and created multiple copies of itself that started circling around the foe. The letter shot more ghost and water type attacks, but it only hit some replicas. „Now attack with Dragon Claw.", Hugh ordered, and the ground type, just as his remaining copies, striked the opponent down. The defense stat of a highly leveled Jellicent was sizeable, but the dragon knocked it out with just one hit nonetheless.
„Your strategy really improved.", Lack-Two praised as he called out his Samurott. The two young men held on to its back and it transported them to the beach of Undella Town.
They had no time to admire the beauty of the landscape and walked straight towards the entrance of the Marine Tube. As they stepped down the stairs, Hugh's jaw dropped amazed. He had never seen something like that. So he kept talking about how marvelous the sight was during the first half of their way through.
Suddenly, he grew annoyed by his partner's seclusion. „What's up with you? I thought you were such a romantic. Do you see something like this daily?"
Lack-Two turned his head towards him and shot him a dark look, but eventually reminded himself that he didn't know any better. „Sorry, Hugh, but I've seen – and lost – more beautiful things in the last days.", he apologized remorseless. After that, they both kept quiet until they passed the tunnel's end and made it to the surface again.
It was lunchtime when they arrived in the town built above the water, and they went to a snack bar to eat something before their appointed meeting with Looker, whom Hugh already got informed about during the flight.
But Looker was ahead of the schedule. He entered the small room in an incredibly bad disguise while they were still eating and slowly stepped towards them. Lack-Two sighed. „Even dust, when piled..."
„...Can become a mountain.", the subordinate ended the phrase and sat down on the empty chair next to them. „Who is the stowaway?"
The boy, who was way taller than the detective, considered him with a peeved look. „He is as disrespectful as you described him, Lack-Two.", he grumbled.
„Looker, this is Hugh, a friend of mine who proofed to be viable in the heat of battle and insisted to join us.", the leader explained.
The older man shook his head deprecatingly. „I surely don't have to tell you that we are not allowed to consult uninvolved individuals.", he recalled.
The boy grinned a little. „I did that the entire time, you just didn't notice.", he evinced.
Looker didn't know how to react, so he just kept quiet until they finished their meal. Then, Lack-Two allotted new orders. „Hugh, would you start searching the vicinity for any signal of Team Plasma while I introduce my subordinate into the newest information?", he specified.
„I'm on my way.", the addressed declared and left. The other two followed, but then searched for a corner where nobody would eavesdrop on them.
Oddly enough, it was Looker who started the conversation. „So, how did your date go?", he asked artless.
„That's none of your business!", Lack-Two snapped. His subordinate was surprised, maybe even concerned – that was so unlike him... The young agent scrutinized him skeptical. „Magician told you, didn't he?"
Looker, obliged to sincerity, nodded.
The superintendent thought for a moment. „Well, since we're already on a way more personal level than we're supposed to be, I may as well tell you the whole truth.", he suggested.
„I'd be honored.", his partner agreed honest.
„Let's start at the beginning. You came to Unova in the first place because it was your task to track down the seven sages, right? And by now, we found Zinzolin and are about to face Ghetsis. While Rood's abode is well-known, the question remains what happened to the others. And by now, I can determine that sufficiently."
„I'm listening.", Looker commented as he made a dramatic break.
„Back when we fought Colress' Genesect, I ordered you to evacuate the area. But someone started that before you we even arrived, remember? And when we invaded the frigate in Virbank City, I told you about a spy that brought the gangway down for us. Last but not least, when you were stuck in Relic Castle, somebody advised me whom to notify. Those were Ryoku, Bronius and Giallo."
„An impressive inference... How did you find that out?", the seasoned detective wanted to know.
Lack-Two smiled weakly. „It's just my talent. You should know by now that my severity for observation is not to be underestimated.", he mentioned.
The subordinate nodded. „I understand what you intend to say, but did you disregard Gorm?", he questioned.
„Of course not, and this is where my theory gets treacherous. Do you think you can take it?", his superior inquired. Looker eyed him uncertain, but nodded.
„Our missions have been corrupted from the beginning. Truth be told, I wasn't completely honest with you. We never got the assignment to stop Team Plasma's activities around Unova, but because the Interpol sent nobody else, I decided to handle it on my own. What's even stranger is the fact that, whenever we got information from the headquarters, we ended up in a trap or at a completely wrong place.
At first, I thought Colress managed to distort our communications, but the conspiracy reaches far deeper. About two years ago, when Black defeated N and Team Plasma loomed to decay, they initialized an emergency plan. I don't know exactly how they did it, but the boss of the Interpol himself was replaced with Gorm from Neo Team Plasma, and he ensured we wouldn't accomplish anything that threatens them. That's why a boy who has lost the life of his mentor in his last mission and a man who hasn't accomplished anything noticeable since the arrest of Charon of Team Galactic were chosen for the job."
Looker warped his face in an undescribable way. „I'll do you a favor and ignore the insult. What you say is manifest betrayal! You're the last one I expected to turn against the Interpol. I can't support this lack of loyalty.", he determined.
In contrast to his facial expression, Lack-Two looked as solemnly as he did in his battles. „I know loyalty holds a great importance for you, but consider that it's exploited very easily. Don't hand it over to the wrong person. In every war, one needs a pawn. Make sure to know which side you're on." A long pause followed. The subordinate needed time to comprehend it. When his superior decided he had gotten enough time, he asked the crucial question. „Do you trust me?"
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. „Yes, I trust you. When you say they are foxing us, I believe you.", he reassured.
The younger agent's face lightened up. „Thanks, Looker. I really appreciate..."
Hugh's voice disrupted him. „I found them!"
Whi-Two was alone on the balcony of the monastery, staring in the sky. It wasn't night, but in her current situation, she found that stars weren't the only things worth interpreting. Dark clouds had blocked the sun and spread to cover up the entire sky. Was it a warning of what was about to come, or was it a symbol of the dark emotions everyone felt right then?
„Why are you alone out here?", a voice suddenly asked. She was stunned to see it was N. The girl tried to greet him appropriately, but all she could do was stuttering. He smiled at this. „I see you still haven't grown more confident."
„Sorry, I...", she apologized slowly, but she didn't know how to end the sentence.
He laid a hand on her shoulder. Could he... No, he was just caring like it was his nature. At least that was what she liked him for in the first place. „There's no need to apologize, we all go through such things sometimes."
„I just don't feel like I'm part of this anymore, and I don't understand why.", she revealed.
„You might not believe it, but the most part of us feels this way.", N asserted. „After two years of hiding, it's hard to reintegrate into the group, since we all learned my former lecture is incomplete. I myself feel a little uncomfortable with leading you into another fight."
She listened to his words carefully. They had the same effect on her like before. But one expression made her alerted. „Did you say 'former lecture'? You don't believe in that anymore?"
„Well, not exactly.", he confessed. She wanted to feel perturbed, but in his presence, she couldn't. „On my journey, I met some very interesting people. They all were quite skeptical when confronted with my ideas, but they were ready to discuss about it with me, and together we have been able to fill the gaps. For example, we pointed out why some Pokemon wish to live in our Pokeballs."
Another ideology was the thing she needed the least right now, so she tried to draw the conversation in a different direction. „What were the people you've met like?", she asked.
„Many of them reminded me of Black, others were like Ghetsis. But none of them was like you, and I rather have you at my side now than any of them.", the man claimed.
Whi-Two smiled flattered and slowly came closer to him, feeling that it was the right moment. N on the other hand felt nothing like that. „I should better go back to Rood, we need to prepare for leaving this place.", he said, ignoring - maybe not even recognizing – her movements.
As he stepped back inside, her Foongus hopped over. It was the only one that saw her falling down on her knees. „Why does love have to be so hard, Foongy?", the girl whined. Only the moonlight was missing to make it a perfect scene for a romantic drama in the Pokestar Studios.